Southwest IL county to begin COVID shots for people 65+, first responders and educators
Randolph County will begin vaccinating people for COVID-19 in the 1B population group starting early next week, county health officials say.
People who are at least 65, first responders and some educators will get their first of two shots.
“We have finished our 1A disbursement and the governor and the IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) gave us the green light to move into some initial phase 1b,” said Randolph County Health Department Administrator Angela Oathout.
Oathout said the county was able to vaccinate nearly all of its healthcare workers at the three hospitals within county limits and finished up 1A vaccinations early this week.
She said one addition to the county’s 1B population will be educators.
“We’ve added some educators to that as well because we are concerned about the environment our educators are in,” she said. “In order to keep our schools open and provide children an in-person learning environment, we need to keep our educators healthy.”
Oathout said the 1B round of vaccinations could take some time due to the larger number of eligible vaccine recipients and the speed at which the county receives vaccines. She said typically the number of vaccines that arrive in the county per week ranges from 200 tp 500.
Here is the group eligible for vaccination in Phase 1B of Illinois’ plan after Phase 1A is “substantially completed.” There are about 3.2 million Illinoisans in Phase 1B, including:
People who are 65 years old or older
Firefighters
Law enforcement officers
911 workers
Security personnel
Teachers, principals and school support staff members
Daycare workers
Food and agriculture workers
Manufacturing workers
Corrections workers and inmates
U.S. Postal Service workers
Public transit workers, including those who work for ride-sharing services
Grocery store workers
Staff members at homeless shelters and women’s shelters
Vaccine update for southwestern Illinois, St. Clair County
As of Friday, 4,041 people have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the metro-east’s seven counties, while a total of 18,222 vaccines have been administered, 1,021 more than the previous days, according to state health department data.
Madison County has administered the most vaccines, with a total of 6,871 as of Friday, while St. Clair County has fully vaccinated the most people in the region with a total of 1,580.
Vaccinations of health care workers and other members of the 1A group began in mid-December and have been ongoing since.
The state reported Friday that roughly 0.80% of its entire population has been vaccinated, or 101,670 people, up from 91,947 Thursday.
Here is the breakdown of vaccinations per county:
- St. Clair County has fully vaccinated 0.61% of its population
- Madison County has fully vaccinated 0.54% of its population
- Monroe County has fully vaccinated 0.39% of its population
- Washington County has fully vaccinated 0.75% of its population
- Randolph County has fully vaccinated 0.96% of its population
- Bond County has fully vaccinated 0.52% of its population
- Clinton County has fully vaccinated 1.07% of its population
As of Friday, Illinois had administered 447,348 vaccines.
Vaccine distribution is still in its earliest stage, known as 1A. Those who work in healthcare or work or are living in long-term care facilities are eligible to be vaccinated during the 1A phase.
The second phase of vaccinations, 1B, will include first responders and other healthcare workers. Officials expect the total vaccination of the 1A group to take at least another month.
COVID-19 positivity rate drops again in southwest Illinois
The metro-east’s COVID-19 positivity rate fell to beneath 10% Friday, the lowest rate since October.
The region’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 9.9% on Friday, down from 10.3% on Thursday. Thursday marked the lowest rate since Oct. 30, when it was 9.7%.
Additionally, the region reported a daily positivity rate of 10.3% on Friday, up from 9.8% Thursday.
The state reported Friday that roughly 0.80% of its entire population has been vaccinated, or 101,670 people, up from 91,947 Thursday.
Additionally, the number of available hospital and ICU beds in the seven-county metro-east improved Friday, according to the state health department.
As of Friday, 13% of the metro-east’s staffed hospital beds were available for patient use, up from 12.2% on Thursday, according to state health department data. Additionally, 15.9% of the region’s intensive care unit beds were available as of Friday, up from 15.3% Thursday.
Friday also marked the 18th consecutive day the region’s hospital bed availability has been below the state-set threshold of at least 20% and the seventh-straight day the region’s ICU availability has been under the threshold, which plays a part in determining whether COVID-19 restrictions need to be tightened or relaxed.
Overall, as of Thursday, Region 4 still had the highest positivity rate and the lowest hospital bed availability statewide.
For Tier 3 mitigation metrics to be relaxed or to move to Tier 2, the region must have a seven-day rolling average positivity rate of less than 12% for three consecutive days while also seeing at least 20% intensive care unit and medical/surgical bed availability for three consecutive days.
The new testing positivity rate is based on data recorded as of Jan. 12, and the hospital and ICU bed availability is based on data recorded as of Jan. 14. A region’s positivity rate is its percentage of positive COVID-19 tests versus the number of tests taken over a seven-day period.
Gov. J. B. Pritzker announced Friday that southernmost Illinois, except the metro-east, had met requirements to move immediately into tier two, a less restrictive COVID-19 tier in the state’s coronavirus mitigation plan.
The state-defined Region 5 can now restart group fitness classes and lower risk youth sports. Casinos, gaming and cultural institutions such as museums can reopen with a 25% capacity and social distancing.
Region 5 includes Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White and Williamson counties.
Regions 1 and 2 were also allowed to move into Tier 2. The metro-east and all other regions were still in Tier 3 as of Friday, though they were nearing loosened restrictions.
Tier 3 restrictions went into place statewide on Friday, Nov. 20. The third tier tightens restrictions on indoor dining, bars and social gatherings while adding restrictions to casinos, retailers, video gaming and museums.
The state classifies the metro-east as Region 4, which covers seven counties: St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Bond, Washington, Clinton and Randolph. County-by-county data is available on the state health department’s website.
Illinois reports new cases, deaths Friday
This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The number in parentheses shows the difference from the previous day’s increase or total.
New cases: 6,642 (-10)
New deaths: 123 (+35)
New tests: 107,156 (-10,880)
Total cases: 1,059,324
Total deaths: 18,049
Total vaccines administered: 447,348 (+33,052)
Total tests: 14,564,776
Hospitalizations: 3,446 (-65)
People in ICU: 712 (-30)
People on ventilators: 386 (+4)
Statewide positivity rate (from Jan. 8-14): 6.5% (-0.8%)
Friday’s breakdown for Region 4
New cases (as of 6 p.m.): 597
New deaths (as of 6 p.m.): 9 (Madison County reported 3 deaths, St. Clair County reported two deaths, Monroe County reported 3 and Bond County reported one)
Total vaccines administered: 18,222 (+1,021)
Daily positivity rate (as of Tuesday): 9.8% (+2.6)
Seven-day rolling average positivity rate (as of Tuesday): 9.9% (-0.4)
Regional hospitalizations: 173 (provided by St. Clair County)
Regional patients on ventilators: 17 (provided by St. Clair County)
Hospital bed availability: 13.0% (+0.8)
ICU bed availability: 15.9% (+0.6)
New cases from nearby counties outside Region 4: No new data as of 4:30 p.m.
New deaths from nearby counties outside Region 4: No new data as of 4:30 p.m.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 214 new positives, 2 new deaths, 2,137 new tests administered, 158 new recoveries, 3 additional patients hospitalized, 1 additional patient on a ventilator
Total overall: 24,023 positives, 371 deaths, 229,583 tests administered, 21,555 recoveries, 98 patients hospitalized with 12 patients on ventilators
Vaccines administrated: St. Clair County is reporting 341 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 6,108.
Additional data: People who tested positive ranged from under the age of 1 to their 100s. Of the 214 new positives, 110 individuals were under the age of 40.
Congregate living facilities: Cedar Ridge of Lebanon reported three new cases, Cedar Trails of Freeburg reported nine new cases, Freeburg Care Center reported one new case and two deaths and St. Joe’s Place reported one new case.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 10.9% (+6.5); 7-day average — 9.0% (+0.1)
MADISON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 203 new confirmed positives, 52 new probable positives, 3 new deaths, 1,852 new tests administered
Total overall: 23,431 positives, 402 deaths, 213,707 tests administered, 14,221 recoveries, 52 patients hospitalized with 5 patients on ventilators
Vaccines administrated: Madison County reports 878 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 6,871.
Additional data: No new data as of 4 p.m.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 10.4% (-0.4); 7-day average — 11.0% (-0.4)
CLINTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 43 new positives
Total overall: 4,910 positives, 77 deaths, 4,524 recoveries, 4 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administrated: Clinton County reports 315 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 2,045.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 12.0% (-1.1); 7-day average — 9.9% (-1.0)
RANDOLPH COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 25 new positives
Total overall: 3,709 positives, 66 deaths, 3,449 recoveries
Vaccines administrated: Randolph County is reports 19 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 1,341.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 7.0% (-5.1); 7-day average — 9.5% (-0.6)
MONROE COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 22 new positives, 3 new deaths
Total overall: 3,534 positives, 68 deaths, 29 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administrated: Monroe County reports 14 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 932.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 3.5% (-11.4); seven-day average — 11.0% (-1.0)
BOND COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 24 new positives, 1 new death
Total overall: 1,854 positives, 18 deaths, 35,835 tests administered
Vaccines administrated: Bond County reports 27 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 487.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 10.4% (-10.4); seven-day average — 10.2% (-1.4)
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Friday’s new data: 20 new positives
Total overall: 1,446 positives, 23 deaths, 1,347 recoveries, 4 patients hospitalized
Vaccines administrated: Washington County reports 50 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 439.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 11.5% (-18.1); 7-day average — 17.0% (-2.0)
MACOUPIN COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 3,934 positives, 94 deaths, 2,550 recoveries
Vaccines administrated: Macoupin County reports 63 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 1,604.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 9.6% (+4.5); 7-day average — 9.0% (-0.1)
JERSEY COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 2,137 positives, 37 deaths, 20,768 tests administered, 2,031 recoveries
Vaccines administrated: Jersey County reports 12 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 807.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 6.7% (-12.5); 7-day average — 7.1% (-0.1)
PERRY COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 2,702 positives, 52 deaths, 2,319 recoveries
Vaccines administrated: Perry County reports 60 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 794.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 15.7% (+4.6); 7-day average — 5.6% (-0.1)
CALHOUN COUNTY
Friday’s new data: No new data as of 6 p.m.
Total overall: 449 positives, 4 deaths, 415 recoveries
Vaccines administrated: Calhoun County reports 10 people have been vaccinated since Thursday, bringing the total to 239.
Positivity rates (as of Tuesday): Daily — 5.3% (-11.4); 7-day average — 11.8% (-1.0)
Editor’s note: The number of new COVID-19 cases for ZIP codes in each county is reported on Mondays and shows the cumulative increase for the past week. Information comes from county sources and the IDPH website.
State, nation, world COVID-19 statistics
Here are the latest available statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health, Worldometer coronavirus map, and Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map as of Friday afternoon.
- Illinois: 1,059,324 cases, 18,049 deaths, 14,564,776 tests
- U.S.: 23,397,662 cases, 390,513 deaths, 13,822,761 recoveries
- World: 92,306,227 cases, 1,977,735 deaths, 66,035,726 recoveries
Testing sites in southwestern Illinois
Here are some upcoming coronavirus testing options:
- Every Tuesday and Thursday: 9-11 a.m. COVID-19 rapid testing at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, 1899 Methodist St., Carlyle
The testing site at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis has been moved to St. Clair Square mall, behind Dillards. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. It’s a drive-thru with four tents, allowing people to stay in their cars.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will continue to deploy mobile testing teams to locations in East St. Louis, including to 4601 State St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday and Monday. Capacity is limited, and hours of operation are subject to change based on available equipment.
Additionally, St. Clair County has a new service center at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville. The regular hours for the location are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays; and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays.
Touchette Regional Hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation also offer daily testing in Belleville and Wood River. Call 618-646-2596 for an appointment.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 5:10 PM.